Monday, February 20, 2006

My name is Lincoln Madison, so I must say I have always felt a special fondness for Presidents' Day, since it honors two Presidents. My interest in politics followed just as naturally.

When I was a young lad, my father was in the Navy Reserves, doing the "one weekend a month plus two weeks a year" gig. A couple of years, Dad scheduled his two weeks training duty in mid-February, because it put a convenient three-day weekend right in the middle. We went to Washington, D.C., those years, so I can honestly say that I walked every hallway of the Smithsonian museums. I also got to see money being printed, the Lincoln, Washington, and Jefferson Monuments, the Archives, and even the House of Representatives in session. Most importantly, I learned not to eat snow if it is yellow or dark gray, and I learned not to fall asleep on a warm bus and miss your stop.

Of course, Presidents' Day isn't the only holiday celebrated today. It is also Family Day in the province of Alberta, Canada. In honor of that holiday, I extend my heartfelt wishes to Albertan Stephen Harper, now Prime Minister of Canada, that he should have more time to spend with his family in Alberta, instead of being far, far away in Ottawa.